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Multiple-Meaning Words

A multiple-meaning word is spelled and said the same way but means different things: a bat flies at night, and you hit a ball with a bat. Context is the only clue, which is why these words are such good reading practice.

Here are 120 multiple-meaning words from past ClueBy puzzles, each with a real example sentence for every meaning. Use them as a reference, or make a printable worksheet below.

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Students read each sentence and write the missing word. Every word appears in several sentences, each time with a different meaning.

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Multiple-Meaning Words

Name: ____________________Date: __________

Write the missing word in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

  1. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  2. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  3. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  4. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  5. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  6. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  7. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  8. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  9. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  10. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  11. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  12. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  13. That was a fun ________________.
  14. I'll be taking the ________________.
  15. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  16. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  17. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  18. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  19. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  20. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  21. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  22. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  23. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  24. We have nothing to ________________ here.

Sentences from ClueBy, Tatoeba (CC BY 2.0 FR) and Common Voice (CC0). clueby.com

Answer key

  1. capital — a city
  2. capital — money
  3. tube — in a tire
  4. rule — a law
  5. hide — animal skin
  6. can — to be able to
  7. craft — boats
  8. rule — to rule out
  9. can — a tin
  10. tube — a container
  11. game — wild animals
  12. craft — a skill
  13. game — a match
  14. tube — the underground
  15. craft — a handicraft
  16. capital — a big letter
  17. hide — to keep secret
  18. game — a kind of play
  19. can — a tin
  20. chest — of your body
  21. chest — of your body
  22. rule — government
  23. chest — a box
  24. hide — to keep secret

Multiple-meaning words list

Tick up to 10 words to build a worksheet with just those words.

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Frequently asked questions

What are multiple-meaning words?

Words with the same spelling and pronunciation but more than one meaning, like bark (of a dog or of a tree) or bank (for money or of a river). You can only tell which meaning is meant from the rest of the sentence.

Are multiple-meaning words the same as homonyms?

Mostly, yes. Teachers often use "multiple-meaning words" and "homonyms" for the same idea. Homophones are different: they sound alike but are spelled differently, like flour and flower.

Are the worksheets free?

Yes. Make and print as many as you like for home or classroom use. Each sheet has its own link, so you can print the same one again.

Where do the words come from?

From past ClueBy puzzles, a daily game where you sort twelve sentences by their missing word. A new puzzle every day adds four more words to this list.

Sentences from ClueBy, Tatoeba (CC BY 2.0 FR) and Common Voice (CC0). clueby.com